Botanica Atlanta - Landscape Design, Construction & Maintenance

The south has long, hot and humid summers when just walking outside can be exhausting. As summer nights lengthen and cool slightly, some shrubs step forward to take center stage and exotic blooms and heady fragrances fill the fresh autumn air. Camellias and Tea Olives are two classic evergreen shrubs that bloom at the end of summer and continue throughout winter, depending on variety.

Camellia

The most common late season blooming shrub is the camellia.  Late summer into early spring is when these shrubs put on their colorful show.  Camellia sasanqua blooms first with bright pink, red or white blooms, which can be single or double.  Some of these are also sweetly scented, so plant them where you can walk by and take advantage of this trait.

Winter through early spring is when the Camellia japonica is in bloom.  The flowers are very similar to Camellia sasanqua, and provide a welcome bloom when very little else is around.

Camellias grow in a variety of conditions but do best with some sunshine.  Full sun is possible as is part sun.  As with many shrubs, camellias with very light colored flowers will do better with some afternoon shade.  Both wind and blazing sun can create a burnt edge to delicate flowers.  Once established, they can survive droughts well and are mostly bug free.

                   Camellia sasanqua

For more information on growing camellias, see the website of the American Camellia Society.

Tea Olive

This is another wonderful fall through winter flowering evergreen shrub.  The tea olive (Osmanthus fragrans) produces an abundance of tiny yellow flowers that are heavily scented.  Tea olives enjoy a similar environment to camellia and once established they survive with very little attention.

                      Osmanthus fragrans

Other shrubs in the landscape that put on a second show are the repeat azaleas and reblooming roses.  Both of these bloom early in the year and tend to peter out during hot weather. They rebound though when late summer weather arrives to give added color to your fall landscape.